The present invention relates to receptacles for the storage of used chewing gum.
Receptacles for chewing gum were known heretofore. One such receptacle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 603,949 issued May 10, 1898 to C. W. Harding. This early receptacle essentially consisted of a case having a base, wall sections of which one is pivotable to expose the interior the receptacle, and a spur or prong extending upwardly from the base upon which the wad of gum is secured. More recently U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,892 issued to R.H. Keaton discloses a chewing gum receptacle formed from a single piece of cardboard or like bendable material. The Keaton receptacle also utilizes a barb or prong to receive or impale the wad of gum.
The principal difficulty with prior chewing gum receptacles is in connection with the removal of the gum therefrom periodically. As is well known chewing gum adheres to most surfaces with which it comes into contact and hardens so as to be extremely difficult to separate from such surfaces. This is also true of the barbs and prongs employed in devices such as the patented receptacles of Harding and Keaton. Therefore, although the prior devices have possessed utility in affording a repository for used chewing gum which would otherwise, in many instances, be discarded on floors or fastened to concealed portions of furniture such prior devices nevertheless presented problems of removal which tended to limit their acceptance by the public.